Another winter has come and gone…and for the first time ever, we did not have to buy hay! This is a miracle considering last summer we had a drought and what seemed like the longest winter in memory. All thanks to the Lord, our provider, and the Franks family, who managed the hay production. The cows are healthy, happy, and producing an abundance of milk!

Our farm has faced a number of challenges this past year. Rather than go into great detail here, we wrote a blog under a new tab above labeled Involuntary Farm Annexation. The blog is quite long as to explain the whole ordeal is very extensive and we tried to include as much information as possible in one place.

We thank everyone for their support of our farm, and all local farms. Please do not hesitate to contact your local representatives and hold them accountable for their governing actions. If you live in the Fortville, Indiana area, feel free to contact the town leaders and let them know the damage they are inflicting on the heartland of America. Their contact info can be found here: Fortville Indiana Elected Officials

Wow! Can you believe the holiday season is upon us? We hope each and every one has a wonderful season!

We just wanted to give an update on the happenings at the Apple Family Farm. Our Dutch Belted herd is growing healthy on our lush pastures. We were blessed not to have been too badly affected by the drought this past summer. We will not be certain until the end of winter when we can determine if we were able to produce enough hay. As our herd is grassfed and we are chemical free, hopefully we will not need to buy hay due to the high expense of hay that is non-GMO and has not been treated with chemicals. In spite of the drought this summer, there were several births and even a set of twins!

Our petting “farm” is growing by leaps and bounds! We have a family that is running the chicken coup as a project for their children. What a great learning experience! With lots of their friends to help, the children have done an excellent job cleaning, feeding, and loving on the animals. They have shown great responsibility as well. The chickens, goats, and turkeys are adding a lot of activity to this dairy farm!

The coop is full of around 90 chickens, consisting of a mix of Ameracauna and Aracauna—also called “Easter Eggers”; Cochin; New Hampshire Red; Barred Rock; Buff Orpington; Silkies; and different varieties of Bantams. We also acquired three Rhode Island Red and two Aracauna chickens, as well as three heritage turkeys, from an old friend of Mom’s who was unable to care for them. The birds were on their daughter and son-in-law’s small acre home, being raised as pets. Yes, the turkeys will actually come up for a neck rub! The son-in-law is in the military and leaving this week for Afghanistan for the next year. We are proud to take care of his birds while he is serving our country!

Yes, Bambi is with kid! The babies should be arriving in mid-winter! If you stop by to play, give her a good back rub, and let her know how wonderful she looks! The two goats have been a lot of fun for everyone. Sweetie Pie, the black goat, is a wonderfully sweet Pygmy; and Bambi is a very pregnant mini Nigerian. They sit in front of the coop every morning waiting for the door to open so their friends can come out to play! Check out our Facebook page for pictures: Facebook Apple Family Farm Pictures

Our market is expanding with more products from local vendors. Our goal is to help support our local farms and pass on health to your families. Click on our Farmers Market tab and check out the all natural and organic items we carry. We are also stocked with our own grassfed beef, grassfed lamb, and pastured pork and chicken. As the holiday season approaches, keep us mind for that natural/organic gift and help bring health to your family and friends.

We appreciate you being part of our community, and hope to see you when you’re here.

Enjoy the sight of open pastures and Dutch Belted cows as you pull into this fifth generation farm. We specialize in grassfed beef, a raw milk cow-share program, and pasture raised foods from local farms.

Our Dutch Belted cattle are 100% grassfed and are never fed any steroids or growth hormones. They are born and raised on our farm. The cattle are pastured on our own fields during the grazing season and then fed high quality haylage and hay during the winter months. They are never fed antibiotics, animal by-products, or any grain products. We believe in preserving the microbial life in the soil, therefore it is important to keep the soil nutrients balanced. No GMO seeds or feed is used on our farm, and everything is chemical and growth hormone free. All animals have access to the outdoors year round. Herd shares for grassfed raw milk are also available locally. More benefits to grassfed beef can be found here: Health Benefits To Grassfed Cattle

You’ll also be able to visit our on-site Farm Market featuring Indiana home-grown products. A list of our market products can be found here: Farm Market on the Apple Family Farm. Information on our cow-share program can be found here: Cow-share Info. While you shop your children can enjoy our Dutch Belted cattle peacefully grazing, or just walk through our century-old timber frame barn.